#there shall be nerdery

[demonslayedher]

A Visit to the Homeland of Ufotable

This is the start of a long, collaborative post with Reichel about a little adventure we took (no, not the adventure to USJ—that post is coming eventually, really!). Spoiler alert: this is an Ufotable adventure! I’m preparing the history stuff, so @reicchel, take it from here!

[latina4rmbx]

The Butterfly Effect

This post IS about the movie. One of the stars in the movie is persona non grata, but I can't help that he was in the movie that I want to discuss and maybe dissect a bit.

The Butterfly Effect Movie (disclaimer, there are spoilers LOL). The movie came out in 2004 so I apologize if it's too soon.

AK plays a kid who passes out and when he wakes up he's somewhere else. According to IMDB (I will post the summary below) this is what the movie is about:

As a child, Evan Treborn was afflicted with blackouts where he would be in one place one minute and then another the next, remembering absolutely nothing in-between. Now all grown up and in college, he decides to read from an old journal he wrote to remember stuff that might have happened in the in-between, and suddenly finds himself back at a certain point in his life. He realizes that those blackouts he had were actually empty spaces of time he had to fill up later in life. Attempting to use this ability to undo unpleasant past events, Evan starts to find that every time he goes back and tries to fix things, he ends up making everything worse. How can he prevent more tragedies from happening and save the one girl he ever loved, Kayleigh 

Here's where it gets fun (and essentially on par to things I've posted in the past), in the beginning of the movie, there's a blurb that explains what the "Butterfly Effect" is. Now, I don't know how real it in, as in the example the blurb uses, but I do believe in it.

Butterfly Effect Definition: The idea that something small, like getting coffee, can have much larger effects, such as altering your career is called the butterfly effect. The butterfly effect rests on the notion that the world is deeply interconnected, such that one small occurrence can influence a much larger complex system.

The example used in the movie is this: The flutters of a butterfly can cause a Typhon in Japan. This is actually the example they generally use. Hence the name The BUTTERFLY Effect. The most amazing part of this example and the definition is that there are actual examples of the butterfly effect.

The Buttefly Effect is an example of Chaos Theory. Which actually feeds into MY theory.

What is Chaos Theory? i'm trying to paste the definition but this shit isn't working so I have to type it out because it's relevant. The branch of mathematics (and science) that deals with complex systems whose behavior is highly sensitive to slight changes in conditions, so that small alterations can give rise to strikingly great consequence

My question for you, dear reader, is this...Does this sound a familiar?

I don't know why I'm obsessed with alternate universes (is it coming back to you?) but I am and I know these things I write from time to time are just the rantings of a HS Graduate but they definitely make me wonder.

I'm going to go out on the limb and say because my life was NOT an easy one and I've lived in my head for a very long time that fantasy becoming reality was all I really knew. I have a fairly interesting imagination, but like me, it is lazy. Lazy in the sense that as I've evolved into me, today, I've let go a lot of that part of me that imagined greater. Here's where the fun part comes in, it's not because I can't see it happening but because I can.

I see a future that a couple of years ago wouldn't have thought possible and definitely would have never attempted to imagine my life today. I was in too much pain and I couldn't see myself. I carry my grief like a backpack, never putting it down. Never stopping to rest. Always just stuffing more and more into it because that's what I thought I was supposed to do. Carry the burden. Never really realizing that I had people, I have ALWAYS had people to help me lift the heavy load.

Not sure if I'm veering off topic here, but let a lady cook for a moment. Chaos Theory and the Butterfly Effect dictates that if you tell a child you love them and they're the most amazing humans on the planet day in and day out for the entirety of their childhoods, they will believe that they are the most amazing humans.

Unfortunately, that is not the life I've lived. It's not how I was raised nor taught to think. I always thought me putting myself in the backgroud of other's peoples happiness made me a good human when in actuality it was a trauma response.

Are you connecting the dots yet?

Back to Evan...Evan was trying to save Kayleigh from the horrors of her life because he loved her and only wanted her ever since he was like 13 years old. Evan would pass out and when he'd come to he'd be in what looks to be an alternate universe. There was what I believe the original one where she was abused. The original one lol. That's funny because as I'm trying to think back (maybe I should've watched the movie before writing this) the movie doesn't really state which life is the "original" one.

Being abused as a child does something to you. In one of Evans "returns" because he's in college, she's a heavy drug user. Is that the original life? That would make sense right? Well Evan tries to go back in time and fix it back then to make her whole in the future, but in doing so he's messing up so many other things.

I want you to think of the person you admire the most and why. It can be anybody, anywhere and any age. Then I want you to imagine they never existed in your life. What would your life have been if that person wasn't born, or that baby wasn't yours or that speaker wasn't the inspiration? It's a sad thought to say the least.

If you're a faithful reader, and I know maybe 3 of you are, then you've seen where I speak about my upbringing and how my life should've been in comparison to what it is. I've also explained it in terms of Marvel, Multiverses...What if these are just other examples of The Butterfly Effect?

I can try to nerd out and go in to detail about Marvel movies (because I do not read the comics) and shows and how they actually mimic the life and times we are living. How Spiderman is my favorite of all of the superheros, but anything Marvel puts out I'm down to watch. I actually wish I could and maybe one of the three that actually read my stuff can, because he's such a comic book fan and I'm talking all of them. DC too (insert eye roll here).

Since I'm not on that type of time, I will just continue to compare my life to fantasy.

How the choices we've made when we were children and didn't know better altered our futures for the better or the worse. How the course of someone else's life colliding with your own can change in an instant. Think of love and the act of falling in it.

I'm trying to be as forthcoming with what I write without revealing any others personal business so I'll say this...I had a conversation with an ex today. Yes, I still TALK to some ex's. I know it's weird because in spanish we have a say that goes: Adonde hay cenizas es porque hubo fuego. Which literally translates to: Where there are ashes is because there was fire. It's comparable to Where there's smoke there's fire? Most people have heard that one.

Some flames have been extinguished a very long time ago and some are smoldering, but they're wet. That means, they won't catch and they WILL burn out.

Anywho, back to this ex...We haven't had a heart to heart since right after we broke up. I mean, we have chatted now and then, but I tend to not get emotional with him because I don't see the point. Here's the problem, I come off as very standoffish and he said I "bullied" him the last time I was in NY. He wanted to see me and he didn't like my response. I PROMISE there's a point somewhere...I apologized because it wasn't my intention to "bully" him (read: hurt his feelings). I'm accountable, for the most part.

So I had to clarify how I was in love with him but alas it was not going to work because while I was in love with HIM he loved the things I did for him. Does that make sense to anyone?

You know me, I go to the comments and type things verbatim. BRB

OMG, I think my mom reads this, but this is real life and it is stated that you have to remove your ego when you write, so here we go...

Me: Maybe it started off that way but I don't think so. Whatever you may think about me or our time: I truly loved you & although I knew it was going to happen, I was heart broken to leave. Him: Were you? Me: Then you treated me like shit so I was like ahhh I'll just leave him be. So I let you be brotha. (I don't know why I called him brotha, maybe distance) ME: In response to "Were you?" Yes. You've probably been there. Broken hearted but with someone else. It was rough. Him: You know I loved what we had (see what I mean?!?!?) Me: I put my big girl panties on and handled it. Him: Memories priceless. We did crazy shit. Me: Exactly. You love what we had. Not me. When I finally realized THAT the spell was broken. Him: I've been with many but with you...Loved it Me: You will always have a place in my heart. Always. Him: I loved you too. Trust. Me: There's no reason to say anything just to make me feel better. We're good. Him: I'm texting from the heart. You match my crazy Me: There are so many different kinds of love. Someone once told me that and I didn't believe them. I started seeing it a while ago.

The fucked up part...After this exchange I thought...what if I never met him? What if I never kept the conversation going on on line? What if I never gave him my number? I had lived 40-something years not in his life, nor him in mine, up to that point and I was fine.

Here's where the split happens. When I say split I'm referring to the multiverse aspect of life. There is a universe where I never met him (even if I met him as a teenager). There is a universe where he and I never got together. There is a universe where he and I are married with children. There is a universe where we hate each other. I mean, if you believe in the multiverse aspect of life.

In the scheme of The Butterfly Effect, one little message. One little word. One little outting, changed OUR lives forever. At least in this universe. One LITTLE, what seems inconsequential, thing altered the course of our lives in a big way. Mind you, when I speak about altering anything I don't mean physical. Spiritual or Mental or Cosmical, you know?

We altered each other's chemistry. To think about it, the day before I barely knew who he was.

THAT is a crazy thing to even ponder. There once was a time that I didn't know you. Now that I do, you are my everything, or some cheesy shit like that. I'm sure I've said something along those lines before...and meant it. One kiss, leads to a roll in the hay (LOL) that leads to a date (it doesn't even have to be in the order I'm laying out in), which leads to sleep overs and holding hands and gazing into each others eyes to saying I love you to getting engaged and to getting married. All of that happens in the blink of an eye, if you can believe that.

I mean, there are several blinks, but ONE is all it takes. That one whooshing of your lashes causes a tsunami of emotions in your heart, mind, body and soul. THAT is The Butterfly Effect.

XOXO

Thanks for reading.

[cornix-the-void-crow]

Maybe I should succumb to the temptation of adding trains and tram network in Hazbin Hell and not care that adding public transport would make it less hellish.

On the similar note, I kinda want to go through with using knowledge about urban planning that I'm getting from uni and redesign Pentagram City. Maybe give it a big open market square in the centre where historically people would bring their wares to sell in temporary stalls. Or add a version of Sukiennice.

Also it would be neat to play around with Kowloon Walled City-adjacent development of Pentagram City, unregulated but kinda organised construction that was constricted from expanding outwards so it grew denser and taller.

Other thing that would be interesting is what vegetables and animals live in Hell and how are they cooked? How human dishes are adapted for local demonic ingredients.

And language! It would be so neat to play around with Hell's writing systems or how languages would shift in such mixed environment like Pride Ring

[thetruearchmagos]

Y'know...

I've recently had this burning inclination to grow through every piece of writing I've ever made, find every instance I've ever used the word 'destroyer', and change it to... something I'll have to come up with. For consistency's sake. Or something. Holy crap that would be stupid. I'm not doing it. Absolutely not---

[commanderyes]

The Commander Says Goodbye

I’m not going to lie, I’m extremely anxious as i’m writing this, out of what these news could mean to a lot of people, and my heart feels heavy enough it could drop down my ribcage any minute from now and squish all my other organs. But I’ve been dancing around this topic for a long time now, and I think i’ve finally reached a point where i can’t ignore it anymore, for my own sake.

I hereby announce Commander Yes has come to an end.

As I’ve mentioned plenty of times before, here and to many other people, when I began this comic all the way back in 2018 I was in a really bad, really low place in my life in every sense of the word, and it was a spur-of-the moment decision to cheer myself up, because Path of Fire had just released and my enjoyment of the game had reached fever pitch and I had been playing Guild Wars 2 alone since as far as launch, and none of my other friends had ever really gotten into it. I guess I just, dunno, cried out into the big maelstrom of the community, one voice amidst millions, because i wanted SOMEBODY to look at what i did and revel in the nerdery with me.

And somehow the snowball began to roll and people wanted more and more of what I could do, and I was being actively reached out to, and, well, some time after that I landed my first ever job, I discovered a lot of things about myself, and I found myself in communities that welcomed me with open arms, and many of the people in there have since become among the best friends I could’ve possibly encountered, kindred souls who i’ve shared joys and sorrows for many years and who I can’t imagine living without anymore.

And all the while I kept making the comics, and with every entry posted every week I’d keep having people stopping to comment on them, and whether they were dumb jokes or personal takes on the story, they’d all share how much what I do kept hitting them in the kokoro, and to this day whenever I play anywhere in the game I still get people who recognize me and thank me for doing what I do. It was wonderful, it IS wonderful, and seeing that response motivated me to keep going, because what did still mattered to people, out there.

But I did always say I planned to keep doing these comics until I ran out of energy for them, and I think i’ve finally reached that point.

Because ever since I actually landed that job I’m exhausted and sleep-deprived every other day, so much so that I only have time to work on the comic on saturdays and sundays, and it gets harder and harder to just sit and draw, and at that point it was just more work, and while I still enjoy and play Guild Wars 2 a lot, it no longer consumes my time and attention like I’ve used to and i’ve been having fun with more personal projects, and honestly the direction the story is taking these days does not sit right with me and it’s hard to find inspiration in that, and this might be borderline selfish but every year I find people care less and less about the comics and it really takes a hit to you motivation when hardly anybody responds after you’ve spent a whole weekend trying to squeeze a five-page comic out.

And, well, I have been doing these for six years straight, and I think that’s a good run. I’m tired, and ready to move on, at long last. Let it be someone else’s turn.

But that’s the beautiful thing about this community, isn’t it? Even if I’m hanging up the hat, there are a whole lot of fantastic artists out there, as we speak, still cranking out works of art, deserving of all the attention they can get. And think of all the artists yet to come! For every story that ends, another story is just about to begin!

The world keeps on spinning, one way or another.

I’ll be closing my patreon shortly after this, but the reddit archives and tumblr blog shall remain for people to browse whenever they feel like (or until they both go in flames, i guess, what social media isn’t about to these days)

I still don’t think I ever was that much of a big deal, but all the same, to everyone who’s ever supported me and helped me be the person I am right now, to everyone who’s been there from the beginning, to all the devs of this game that has captured us for nearly a decade now, to all my fellow players and artists out there

Thank you.

See you out there, fellow commanders. Still the stars find their way.

[rj-anderson]

I dusted and rearranged (and slightly culled) my Shelves o' Nerdery today and am quite pleased with the result. My k-pop album collection needed more space so Stray Kids ended up nudging Reylo (+ Rose and Tiny Han Solo) to the far end, but there they shall stay because even if my joy in Star Wars died in the theatre with TRoS and never recovered [1], Reylo lives forever in my heart 🦋

Anyway I currently have a complete Xdinary Heroes and xikers collection as well as all the SKZ albums I care enough to buy, which is pleasing. I'm still a little bummed that I ordered the Compact version of Deadlock by accident, and if I'd known more about the Tabloid version of Live and Fall I would have picked a different one for that album too (the hazards of doing all my buying online). But I'm still glad to have them.

-- [1] See also: Nu Who where my joy died with the Chibnall era, kind of like my joy in Classic Who died with Five's regeneration into Six and didn't return until the TV movie (which was arguably Not Good but Paul McGann was wonderful). But anyway I have two Sonic Screwdrivers (Eleven's and Twelve's) and I think they're pretty cool... ...which causes me to wonder if anyone has ever brought a Sonic Screwdriver to a kpop concert, and how funny it would be if I did. Not SKZ because I have a Proper Lightstick for them, but maybe xikers if I ever get to see them in person.

[arialerendeair]

Dreamling Fic Masterpost

Dreamling Masterpost

Decided it was high-time that I made a Masterpost of my Dreamling content because I have much of it! So here it is! If a fic is a part of a series, I'll link the series. All fics are complete unless listed in progress!

Bingo Masterpost | Ao3 Collection

An Immortal, an Endless, a Human-Turned-Dream-Eager Walk Into A Bar (and find a Missing Ray of Sunshine) |  15k

Those Who Kink Together, Stay Together | 4k

My Heart’s Protector | 5k

Make It Count | 120k

Well Matched | 31k

Dreaming of Warmth | 1.1k

Weathering A Storm | 11k

Synthetic Dreams | 7k

The Heart of an Endless | 4k

Half Your Age Plus Seven… Billion? | 10.7k

My Stranger | 6k

Iustitia | 9k

The War for The Dreaming | 32k

A Husband, A Consort, A Nightmare | 9k

Common Dating Misconceptions | 6k

A Bastion of Warmth | 7k

Ye Olde YouTube Love Story | 7k

The Not-So-Accidental Baby Acquisition | 5k

A Worthy Proposal | 7k

Hope of the Endless is Created, Taught, and Courted (Mostly In That Order) | 23k

Drifting with Dream | 12k

Dragon Wars | 39k

Summer Rain | 5k

Shifting Gears | 5k

The Barghest Nightmare | 19k

Hopefully Verse

Hopes & Dreams | 35k

Hoping Dinner Goes Well | 9.5

A Symbol of Hope | 3k

Hope Holds the Gates | 5.5k

Shattered Hopes and Rebuilt Dreams | 6k

Hope Destroys to Build Again | 4k

A New and Hopeful Future | 5k

The Art of Weapon-Related Seduction (As Observed by Hob Gadling & Dream of the Endless) Verse

The Art of Seduction Via Longbow | 12k

The Continuing Art of Seduction Via Weapons Demonstrations (And Leather Pants) | 11.5k

The Art of Nerdery (and Seduction) Via Lightsabers | 4k

Checkmate Verse

Discover Check, and Incidentally Mate | 6k

The Grandmaster Title (And Reward) | 13k

Dreamling Week 2023

A-Courting to You | 1.1k

Dragon Bonded | 5k

Anything | 3k

Pretending! Unless... | 4k

Jealousy Does Not Become Him | 4k

Or | 2.5k

All in a Day's Kidnapping | 6k

Standalone Dreamling Fics

Alexander is Endlessly Surprising | 30k

Vengeance Burns | 4k

The King Consort Goes to War | 8k

Nightmaric Catharsis | 15k

The Price | 22k

Begin, Muse, when the two now break and clash, Dream of the Endless and Lucifer Morningstar | 9k

The Decline in the Art of Kidnapping | 4k

Necessary Friction | 5k

Torment | 8k

Daydream in Love | 5k

In the Rain | 2k

Broken Pots Still Hold Water | 9k

A Dream of Rescue | 51k

Five Times the Dreaming Needed Dream - and One Time They Needed Each Other | 8k

Rescuing Hope of the Endless | 9k

On Fierce and Wild Wings | 33k

Hob Gadling, King Consort (And Friends) | 12.3k

Into the Unknown, Together | 4k

Learning to Say Goodbye | 1k

Struggle | 1.1k

The Storyteller | 2k

Lustful Daydreams | 3k

Songs and Sagas of a Fate Determined | 4k

Becoming Hope of the Endless | 6k | IN PROGRESS

While You Were Sleeping | 4k

Braided Longing | 13k

A Dream Model | 30k

A Dream of Dragons | 32k

Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? (AKA The Sonnet-Off) | 7.5k

Dreams Make Living Worthwhile | 63k

Broken Glass | 12k

Dethroned | 24k

A Family Stands Tall | 10k

A Blundered Beginning | 12k

What's a Bit of Death Between Friends | 9k

Call of the Wild | 28k

Rewrite the Stars | 60k

Old Town Road (AKA The "Hob is a Horse Girl" Fic) | 12k | IN PROGRESS

Well, That's Curious | 39k

Colour Forecasting (Co-authored with @blueberrymffn) 289k out of 625k posted)

Will be updated as I post more fic!

[thegeminisage]

sigh. tng update time. tuesday we did "sarek" and last night i sadly watched "menage a troi" on my own.

sarek: the fact that they mentioned his "son's wedding" once near the beginning and never clarified distracted me for the entire episode until i could google it. and google gave me no answers except to say that he married saavik in some semi-canonical novel. i hate that because saavik was his student (i guess aos had him right after all...) and also because of whatever horrible and weird thing they had going on in search for spock. WHICH BY THE WAY BROKE PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED CANON don't get me started

anyway, aside from that, this episode fucking ruled

i love the concept of vulcan dementia just being vulcan emotionalism. i wonder if it's genetic. i wonder if spock would've gotten it had he lived longer. i kind of wish spock had been the one following sarek around containing his emotions even though i wouldn't wish that fate on him cuz then i would've gotten to see him :(

less thrilled about the new wife. they could have had someone else play amanda if her real actress wasn't available (and she wasn't dead, i checked). if people live for like 150 years in the future there simply wasn't long enough for her to die and for sarek to have gotten remarried, especially if vulcans bond for life (which i guess was implied in some interpretations of amok time but not canonized).

actually, if sarek had once been bonded to someone as spock was to t'pring, how did HE wind up with a human wife...did he get remarried so quickly because of pon farr or does that wind down as vulcans get older...so many questions which will never be answered

anyway, i loved the sudden bursts of anger, it was so fun. uh except for beverly hitting her kid but it wasnt Her so we can move past it. especially thrilled with riker and picard almost getting into it

SAREK CRYING? ok king. i wish we had gotten to see spock cry and not in that deleted tmp scene

i loved picard's nerdery of him also. that makes the mind meld very fun. the rituals are literally intricate. also, "we shall always have the best parts of each other inside of us" i HOPE THATS TRUE FOR SPOCK AND KIRK AND BONES. i read an excerpt from a novel. well. i don't want to talk about it

anyway, picard calling out to spock and amanda...maybe i did well up a little at the mention of spock's name. who can say!!!!!

menage a troi: SSSSSSSSSSSIGH

ok, so i grabbed this one by myself because the summary looked bad and we're trying to finish s3 before chr*stmas fucks up all our social plans. no matter how bad the summary was, the actual episode was WORSE

i have three good things to say about this episode actually. the first was that i like that deanna yelled at her mom again, although this time i know better than to expect it to stick. the second was that i LOOOOVED deanna and riker's little date outfits. extremely charming. and finally i loved when lwaxana handed riker that horrible looking vegetable and he ate it with only mild reluctance. king is literally down to clown.

the rest of this ep was garbage. i know we didn't actually see any sex happen but i feel like they implied pretty heavily that the ferengi fucked her, possibly even multiple times. and like it's funny! ha ha ha look at the crazy situations this eccentric lady gets into! ha ha ha look at her and deanna having to run around naked!

somehow, this was the worst lwaxana episode yet. idk why i actually expected them to do a little better in s3. like, if i was gene roddenberry and they did this to my WIFE on MY SHOW. but you can put even odds on it being his idea or him getting off to it. his horrible little fetish fuel.

cherry on top was lwaxana's self-sacrifice at the end where she stays behind to let deanna escape sex slavery or whatever. which one felt like a classic narcissist parent thing and two wasn't even real - it was an excuse for picard to do badly-acted poetry on the bridge to pretend to be her jealous lover to get them to let her go. and then after all that she goes right back to sexually harassing HIM. because it's funny! ha ha ha!

anyway, it's a shame they had wes's little arc as the b plot of this episode because it was fine and feels important continuity wise, and yet every list on earth will rightfully suggest this episode get skipped because it fucking sucks.

tonight, the last two episodes of season 3 - "transfigurations" and "best of both worlds part i." i already know picard gets BORGED in the finale because i've known that since i was a baby and i am WAITING!!! they fucjing blue balled me in the first borg ep and i am MORE than ready for some brainwashed cyborg action. palette cleanser after lwaxana troi episodes.

[demonslayedher]

I'm asking this through a proper ask this time, so that other people can have benefit of reading your thoughts and answer on it.

So.

How come the Kanji for "rank" is 弦? As far as I understand, that particular Kanji is used to describe a string, like a bowstring, in particular drawing a bowstring. Wouldn't it be more accurate to use Kanjis like: 格, 級, or 位?

I don't actually have that many thoughts, since this isn't that closely tied into KnY and I'm not a language teacher, but for some basic reference, the Corp uses the phrase "階級" (kaikyuu) for the term "rank," and I have more reference about that system and it's terminology here. "Kaikyuu" implies a stepping-stone sort of system of advancement, as opposed to words for rank which might imply something more like social class or wider hierarchy or the quality of a good or the level of nerd test one is trying to pass. "弦" (gen) is used only for the Twelve Moon Demons, because this is in reference to stages of the moon. You're correct that this character describes something like a bowstring, because these phases of the moon are compared to a drawn bow, facing either up (Upper Moons, like when the moon is waxing and has reached half full), or facing down (Lower Moons, when the moon is waning and reached half again). I had left the former explanation at roughly that, but since you've done a formal Ask, I've taken a look back at the Moon Breath forms to see if I can offer any additional insights off the top of my head... and I promptly said "nope!" and closed the book, hahaha! The Breath names can be really deep, but also really difficult to know where to start when researching them (sometimes they jump out at me, like how lightning is thought to give life to rice, hence "Rice Spirit," or references to specific phenomenon like "Unknown Flame"). I was hoping some of the Moon Breath forms would be more obvious moon phase or moon season references, since those can get pretty poetic. Some of them feel slightly familiar but I'm not ready to follow this rabbit down down this hole yet. ^^;;;;;

[inheritorofmemories-archive]

@themoonwheniamlost​, please keep in mind you encouraged this massive display of nerdery from someone who might someday end up writing stuff and thus loves to overthink anything related to writing.

Your post here is the perfect opening for me to say: the pacing of this movie in incredible and I would love to see the script. More under cut because once again I do not know how to keep things short.

I heard reviews saying the movie is too slow and I'm sorry but they die 12 minutes in. What else do you need??

And before that, and the thing from your post that prompted this: the very thing you get, the opening even, is the very dramatic and curiosity inducing line from Andy “I’ve been here before. Over and over. And I'm so tired.” How many time did this woman lie in a pool of her own blood? Wait, is she dead? I want to know, I shall keep watching to find out! And that’s followed by the found family opening and giving you clear indications of every characters. Booker and Andy share a thing in common (it’s called depression kids) ie: the book, the alcohol in the tea; Joe and Nicky are JoeandNicky and also their hugs tell a lot about themselves -open and loud love or reserved and quiet love- Joe’s “Admit it Boss (another good element, she’s the boss and they don’t question it. Sexism who?), you’ve missed this” and Nicky’s “We can do some good” being fundamental piece of their characters, then cool team work showing all their skills and how well they work together, and then bam! Immortality and stakes of the movie in two minutes : can't die, people know they can't die, oh no gotta clear that up. Also Tired Andy has given up.

And then you have Nile, lots of elements about her in a short time : she's kind with the children when she has no obligation to, she’s a competent marine and a good person “Keep it respectful”. She’s also leading her team, and she’s good at her job, make the women leave the place before attacking, “we need him alive!” and oh no she's dead! But she's not, oh shit another immortal while they're being tracked? Gotta find her and Copley, let's split up. More characterisation of the team with how they deal with the dreams.

Moment focused on Nile with the Frank Ocean scene, how she’s feeling rejected and overwhelmed but music and art is a safe space for her that she finds comfort into. Then Andy finds her and the plane fight : introduce dynamics and personality. Tired Andy is woken up from her catatonic state by Nile (look how she smiles when Nile deck her), Nile is so smart and quick on her feet (the belt around Andy’s wrist) and also she's a fighter she doesn't give up easily. But she's still scared of what’s happening to her, and Andy is gonna help her.

Then moment of exposition and bounding that's not too dragged out and just enough info dumping while still being enjoyable to watch with the jokes (more like misery loves company/what he said, we killed each other/Many times) and the emotions (the entire Quynh scene) and then we focus some more on Nile (and her relationship with Andy); how scared she is, how she’s dealing with it all. And in a fluid transition (being a big explosion) another fight scene! And even in the action, we still get Andy and Booker and feelings, fear and love and care for another.

But this fight has more stake, and it serves to show the spectator the violence of Andy and how she deals with it (you need to feel it). Nile has doubt and fear over Andy’s actions, understandable when you see the state of the church when she leaves. Then the van scene for Joe and Nicky and to feed us little gays who clearly need the positive representation; then Andy finds she's mortal, then Booker's back story for Nile, then the scene with Celeste and then Nile and Andy talking on the car : developing the emotions and characters. On the side, Joe and Nicky with Merrick : bit of plot and characterization of the antagonists (Merrick is a sadistic asshole, the doctor is the same and Copley starts to have doubts) but also more food for us (oh, that time in Malta).

Then, betrayal!! Smart Nile figures it out on her own, but before Andy does so we know what’s going on when Andy steps into the room and we can watch Booker’s reactions. Oh no, Andy is gonna die, but Nile come back to save the day. Also, we learn their purpose! After the emotional scenes and development we get the last fight scene, but it's for the plot not just action for the sake of kicking ass (which they can do very well but that’s not the focus, it’s the ground for the inclusion of Nile in the team and the development of their relationships). We get Nile accepting her immortality (going down fighting, what a fitting song), Booker facing them, Andy standing up again despite how tired she is (she trust Nile’s word! “I’ve seen it, I know all the good you’ve done” and she gets up!) and the team getting out. Also, "I go first, next time it's you" and "he speaks Russian?" for the evolution of Nile and Andy's relationship, nicely done.

And now it's the end, it’s not as quickly paced, now we can settle down and feel again, bad guy's dead and they're safe. They heal and deal with the last problem: Booker. More Nile development, she's in the team now and she'll deal with her family. More Andy development, she’s ready to fight again! Moral of the story: human survive by helping each other and being kind and good. Survival through others, and it works! The movie tells us so!

The last scene is very obvious but still, cliffhanger needed : Oh No. Quynh's back and we have no idea what she plans to do but she's planning alright. See you in the next movie, bet you’ll want to see what’s gonna happen next.

.

I would love to see the script because that movie deals really well with the plot and the progression of the stakes and the character's arc. It's all very fluid and at no moment it felt wrong or forced. Of course you feel the info dump at the church but it's done really gracefully compared to other movie where you get a lecture instead of a conversation between characters that feels natural and real, human.

All the character arcs are clear: Nile accepts her immortality and finds her place in the team, Andy finds hope again and a will to fight.

[rentfreecat]

Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts Fanfic Recs

so yeah I figured I should get around to making a list of some of my faves to promote them, I’ve got a big enough collection of bookmarks now. in no particular order. not all of them are necessarily complete or alive

Final Fantasy VII

The Gold Saucer’s Golden Arches by belderiver

Before he doomed the world to ash and ruin, Sephiroth wanted a burger.

note: Sephiroth + sudden hunger pang = mcgold

Meetings by Yinza

Aeris reflects on her few encounters with Sephiroth over the years since her escape from the lab.

note: Aerith having known Sephiroth before is just one of my favorite headcanons

lather, rinse, repeat by annperkinsface

She knows she shouldn't confuse this act of kindness for anything else, but it's hard, when Aerith is draping a towel over her shoulders, when Aerith is warm at her back, humming as she works a thick lather across her hands.

note: adorable Aerti. Aerith being a weirdo. Tifa blushing and being kinda horny. perfect. in case you couldn’t tell I ship it.

In Circles by Larissa

Tifa hates Midgar, and yet she stays, and she stays, and she stays.

Character study/pre-game gap-filler. Written for the Tifa Zine.

note: beautiful mood piece

the nodding golden tansy by Kieron_ODuibhir

“You think this troubles me?”

“Yes,” said Cloud, without looking up from his tea.

note: one of my fave takes on Seph and Cloud’s relationship. wonderfully quiet and melancholy.

not one before another by Kieron_ODuibhir

1) Sephiroth almost corrected the first person who called Aerith his sister, a woman they’d met before they were even out of Midgar’s slums complimenting him on taking such good care of her, while their mother shopped.

2) The other half of Project S took after their father.

3) Blue eyes contemplated him narrowly for several seconds, and then Genesis’ smirk came back, lying on his face more easily, somehow. “So brothers-in-arms to the skirmish shall we hence?”

4) It felt wrong to be relying on anybody but Mother, but Mother…only cared about Sephiroth, and it wasn’t fair. Loz sniffled. “Will she take care of Yazoo, too?”

5) “I’m glad he’ll have a big brother,” she said, as Sephiroth crossed the room. “Little ones always need someone looking out for them.”

Sephiroth nodded, and bent forward, and peered at the squashed little pink thing until it stirred, objecting probably to cool air on its face. “What’s his name?”

“Cloud."

(Five times in five worlds where Sephiroth was somebody's brother, and one where he wasn't anymore.)

note: exactly what it sounds like. personal fave is 4.

Angels Still Have Faces by Kieron_ODuibhir

On the fourth day, Sephiroth looked out a window and spotted his two friends together on one of the outdoor training fields, once again exchanging harsh words, only for Angeal to wheel around and storm off at the end.

note: fics where someone other than the main character time-travels are amazing and this is that and also outsider pov mother bear Sephiroth who doesn’t know what pizza is

Final Fantasy IX

puppet play by zalzaires

starting a drabble collection for ffix. i mostly just write about kuja so hence the name.

note: my personal fave is "curtains, bookends, stars of the show” because Kuja is such so... Kuja in there

Final Fantasy XV

ffucc the wedding by Givethemtriumphnow

Gift for Victortor, inspired by their fabulous ffucc Universe.

Noctis and Luna are the same person, one soul split into two bodies.

In a world where everyone lives and nothing hurts, the wedding is still a symbol of the peace, and the show must go on. Noct and Luna just can’t wait for what comes afterwards: the Big Reveal.

note: I just really like the one person two body trope okay? pretty entertaining read!

Poor Wayfaring Stranger by lithos_saeculum

Out on a mission, Cor Leonis finds a teenager, lost and sick and partway to becoming an MT. Against the advice of all and sundry, he brings him back to Insomnia. There's not a lot of love lost for MTs in the Citadel, but some of its inhabitants may still be young enough to put aside their prejudices.

note: also on my list of likes is MT Prompto trope, and honestly fuck canon that’s just there for inspiration. TW for implied pedophilia and stranger danger in one of the later chapters.

Will You Be There, Standing at the End of the War by Adel Mortescryche (Mortescryche)

When they're attacked by the Imperial Forces at Tenebrae, Regis wasn't prepared to be rescued alongside Noctis, Lunafreya and Ravus by the Commanding General of the enemy forces. Not after the man already cut Sylva down before them.

He was even less prepared for the face lying in wait behind the mask.

He dropped down to one knee, and rather pointedly cupped the left side of Drautos’ head, delicate, making no move to actually hide the fury raging through him.

“Talk, Titus.” Regis whispered. “Before I take this airship down from the sky.”

note: Drautos time-travels and is an absolute bastard. I like seeing his and Regis’s exchanges!

For Want of a Flan by magicgenetek

For want of some patience, Ifrit never freed Ardyn from Angelgard to rebel against the Astrals.

For want of Ardyn, Nifleheim never invented MT Troopers.

For want of MT Troopers, Lunafreya and Ravus were able to escape with Regis, and Nifleheim never cornered Lucis in their war.

For want of a kidnapping, Luna, Noctis and Prompto were able to work together to get ready for the prophecy, and Ravus is ready to suplex an Astral to make sure someone survives the prophecy.

For want of separation, the four of them go to Angelgard to figure out what secrets lay there, and accidentally adopt Ardyn into their plans to save the world.

For want of 2000 years’ prep time, Ardyn’s going to have to get up to speed on the modern world fast if he wants revenge or to fulfill his half of the prophecy.

note: has a good deal of worldbuilding and linguistics nerdery. I like that. I also like the recovery element of Ardyn’s arc.

A Little More Time by Asidian

The sun is brilliant overhead – set in a blue sky dotted with clouds that float like wisps of spun sugar through the high arc of the heavens.

It's more than lovely. It's entrancing, and Noctis takes one long, final look before he turns his gaze back earthward. His vision dances with sunspots for a moment, afterimages from the blinding light – but when it clears, Noctis sees a small black dog there, patient and watchful as always.

Umbra has been waiting.

"Alright," Noctis says. "We're ready to go back."

note: short, punchy, and absolutely chilling

Eschaton by nirejseki

Sure, it's the end of the world, but that just means someone's got to fix it.

And then the world found its somebodies.

(aka, with Noctis gone into the Crystal and no one sure when he'll be back, Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto end up saving the world one piece at a time)

note: I like worldbuilding and MTs alright? and schoolteacher Gladio will never not be funny/great

Astra Inclinant by thekindmagic

“Look,” Aranea laughs, shaking her head. “I’m not trying to shit on your destiny. But the way I see it? A lot of the time, there’s no big mystery. You either keep going, or you don’t.”

note: how could I not rec femslash? beautiful melancholy mood. I’m so sad for Luna

Starlight and Shadow by ohmyfae

While Noctis and his friends are setting up camp, Ardyn Izunia happens to accidentally stumble onto the runes of their haven. The magic of the haven pulls him into two halves; One is Ardyn, a small child with a bit of an ego and a limited knowledge of the world at large, and the other is the Scourge, shambling and groundless, determined to seek out its former host and consume the light it finds there.

note: fun read!

On the Care and Keeping of Prompto by ohmyfae

Congratulations! You have been chosen to ensure the well-being of PROMPTO, who is: 1. An absolute darling. 2. Of more intrinsic value than you, your significant other, your ancestors, and the world at large. 3. Two years and four months old 3a. This is very important to remember 4. Behind you.

note: also a very fun and fluffy read! also the fic that introduced me to the amazing crackship of Ardyn and Cor, and I say crackship but... I want more of it

Kingdom Hearts

The Price of Melodrama by LawnNinja

Xemnas never imagined that one of the hardest parts of his plan would be the stupid names.

note: deny it all you wish but you know this happened. also XULORD

(i don’t need you to) Worry for Me by Cygna_hime

In a fit of defiance and desperation, Vanitas disobeys his Master's orders and goes looking for the missing half of his heart. He finds it, and something else as well, something he never expected to find anywhere...

note: I absolutely love this I’ve read this like... 3 or 4 times? go read it now

Bleeding Heart by keelahselai

Xemnas was fundamentally a bad person. Born from the fracture of Xehanort's heart, he had only caused pain to those he banded together with under the promise of finding a way to return all their hearts. He shattered the Organization he'd founded for his own gain, and he understood this with cool indifference. But beneath everything, carefully kept folded away and hidden from Xigbar's prying eye, he was also made from the other inhabitant of Apprentice Xehanort's body. And as troubling as it could be to their plan, he kept it hidden from all.

(Or, how Terra managed to keep his head above the water for thirteen years)

note: I absolutely love the.. I don’t know what it’s called, but let’s say Terramas even though that sounds like a ship name... I absolutely love that trope. this one has such just a great mood y’know?

By Choice or Chance by Six_Piece_Chicken_McNobody

Lazy afternoons are a universal phenomenon.

note: I just love Xehaqus’s tragedy. this is nice, fluffy, and one of them is going to murder the other in his own selfish lust for power. (I know III said Xehanort had other motivations but I just love the “he’s such an utter bastard that all his relationships are going to end disastrously” interpretation)

Whatever Will Be by NanakiBH

Once I tell you the words I've been unable to say, it will be goodbye.

note: more explicitly melancholy mood than last one, still great.

[pilferingapples]

@aporeticelenchus replied to your post: "#the Les Amis RPG Character sheets just BOOM...

The knowledge domain cleric seems like a good fit for Combeferre, or even arcana domain. All the nerdery of wizards with debatably even MORE commitment to learning all the things!

Ooh, thank you! I like this and shall add it in to the list !:D

[gosecretscribbles]

MonthofMaybel2019 Week 3: Living with Your Average Nerdbro

A/N: After last week's angst I NEEDED FLUFF so have some mabel/stan bonding over their adorably nerdy nerdbros!

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Grunkle Stan

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Grunkle Staaaaaaan

brassknucklegrunkle: what

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Dipper's hogging Anansi and I wanted to get

him to try on a sweater but he's too busy doing 'experiments' with his

webbing

brassknucklegrunkle: the heck is anansi

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): He's this smoking-hot six-inch-tall Spider

Person with little chocolate freckles and a big fluffy spider butt

brassknucklegrunkle: we really need to talk about your taste in boys

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Dipper is hogging him and I'm so bored I

could die

brassknucklegrunkle: YOU'R bored

brassknucklegrunkle: try bein stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean

with a guy who's mostly interested in poking things that want to kill you

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): to be fair you do that too

brassknucklegrunkle: Hey, I poke things and run away

brassknucklegrunkle: HE WANTS TO STUDY WHAT THE

MONSTER LOOKS LIKE FROM THE INSIDE

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Right?!  Last week Dipper found some kind

of raccoon with crab pinchers digging through our neighbor's salami pile

and the first thing he wanted to do was poke it with a stick

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): I man I think it was a raccoon

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Either way it could pinch harder than an old-

timey grandma

brassknucklegrunkle: That's nothing.  Last week this little trash island

bumped up against our boat and it was covered with these little blue

singing things that numbed your face.

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Why would they numb your face?

brassknucklegrunkle: They looked like mushrooms and i was sick of

fish okay?

brassknucklegrunkle: ANYWAY they were the food for this sea serpent

the size of a sky scraper, which was pretty cool until it ate a ton of the

mushrumbas rolled over and played dead

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): LIKE A LITTLE TEN-TON PUPPY?!!

brassknucklegrunkle: More like a conman with a million-dollar mark

brassknucklegrunkle: Ford was like OH LOOK DEAD CRYPTID

PERFECT FOR SCIENCE and leaped right into its mouth, started poking

at its teeth. I stayed on the boat until i saw its one eye rolling, I was

shouting at Ford to get out but he was doing his stupid genius thing and Ii

had to jump in there to save his sorry butt

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): NO WAY DID YOU DIE

brassknucklegrunkle: APPARENTLY BECAUSE IT STARTED

SWALLOWING

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Uh oh

brassknucklegrunkle: Worst part I couldn't even get a good guilt trip out

of it because halfway down the throat got claustrophobic

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Ohhhhh bad

brassknucklegrunkle: I punched our way out and Ford didn't get

flashbacks but he shut up for like an hour and not in a good way.  He

wanted to just hole up below deck with his nerd stuff but I was aafraid his

brain would panic so I gassed him out

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): ew

brassknucklegrunkle: YEAH BABY WHO ATE TOO MUCH CRAB

FOR BREAKFAST

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): I thought the point was NOT to freak him

out???

brassknucklegrunkle: Eh, I brought up all the nerd junk that wasn't

nailed down and some coffee, he was fine,

brassknucklegrunkle: kinda reminded me of Dipper

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Dipper's not claustrophobic tho?

brassknucklegrunkle: Not that part, the anxious nerd part.  For the last

half of the summer sometimes I'd be coming up from the portal, frick that

is weird to say, and he'd be walking around the Shack muttering under his

breath but still asleep.  

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): uhhhh that's probably from bill

brassknucklegrunkle: no, that was way before weirdmag

brassknucklegrunkle: wait

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): uh, yeah, Dipper kinda made a deal with

him? and Bill stole his body and tried to ruin my puppet show? that was

Bill in Dipper's body you were filming, ahaha whoops???

brassknucklegrunkle: WHAT

brassknucklegrunkle: YOU CANNOT CUSS ON THIS WEBSITE

brassknucklegrunkle: YOU CANNOT CUSS ON THIS WEBSITE

brassknucklegrunkle: HE MADE A DEAL WITH YOU CANNOT

CUSS ON THIS WEBSITE BILL CIPHER BEHIND MY BACK AND

NEITHER OF YOU TOLD ME

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): sorry sorry sorry!  

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): I can airlift you brownies!  Full of guilt!  Guilt brownies!!  

brassknucklegrunkle: TOFFEE PEANUT BROWNIES IS HE STILL

SLEEPWALKING

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): It's getting better I think??  

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): I wake up when he does that here because

our bed creaks and he's only done it like twice, I hold his hands until he

wakes up and basically pump him full of hot chocolate with mountains of

whipped cream and so many colored sprinkles it turned into a rainbow

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Although one time I woke up for a midnight

snack of sugar packets, as you do, and I heard Ford call him on Skybe and

they talked for a while

brassknucklegrunkle: I told him not to wake you two up

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): please, Dipper's awake like all the time, he's

practically an honorary vampire

brassknucklegrunkle: he's pale enough

brassknucklegrunkle: i don't get it, Ford knows he can talk to me, right?  

Why doesn't he?

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Aw, Grunkle Stan

brassknucklegrunkle: I mean we are literally the only two people around

for hundreds of miles and he still skybes with someone else, either that or

he's doing more weird nerd stuff

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Maybe that's just his way of coping

sometimes?

brassknucklegrunkle: There are better ways of coping than jumping

feet-first down a sea serpent's throat

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): okay point

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Dipper's like that too sometimes, he's all

obsessed with Anansi and I want to hang out with him but I kind of feel

like I'm getting in the way.

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Grunkle Stan, sometimes I get scared that

he'll obsess over his nerd stuff so much that I'll lose him even when he's

sitting right next to me.

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Grunkle stan what do I do

brassknucklegrunkle: first of all stop stress knitting

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): how did you

brassknucklegrunkle: knitting is fine stress knitting is knot

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Hey-o!

brassknucklegrunkle: That's my girl!  

brassknucklegrunkle: Okay second, that nerd can get so deep in his

nerdery he doesn't even realize he's ignoring you.  So what you need to do

is be as loud and obnoxious as possible to get his attention ,and once you

have it go do something you both love doing!

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): OH OH!!!  IDEA!!!

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Dipper likes science and I like cooking,

right? I can ask Anansi if we can feed him colored powdered sugar and

see if his webbing turns into a rainbow!  It shall be a perfect smoothie

blend of art and weirdness!

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Then Dipper will be like 'uuhhh that's so cool

mabel I should've included you sooner' and i can GUILT TRIP HIM

FOREVER

brassknucklegrunkle: Yes!  YESS!!  

brassknucklegrunkle: USE HIS OWN NERDERY AGAINST HIM

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): GRUNKLE STAN YOU SHOULD

TOTALLY TO THAT TOO!!!

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Open a selkie-slash-mermaid dating services

so yu get hot dates and he gets to study weirdness!!

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): And then you can talk about your dates for

HOURS and he'll have to listen to EVERY SINGLE DETAIL because it's

SELKIE SCIENCE

brassknucklegrunkle: GENIUS

brassknucklegrunkle: Mabel sweetie you make me so proud

brassknucklegrunkle: Now go commit emotional blackmail, and don't

forget to make me those brownies

KOALA_PIG_QUEEN))): Yes, Grunkle Stan!!  MABEL AWAY!!!!

[latveriansnailmail]

I have decided to split up my blog. This one shall continue as my receptacle for Marvel, RPGs, and general nerdery while my goth and more highbrow content will now be shifted to @elegantlyposedtodeath

Come follow the new blog!

[dr-gloom]

This Looks Like Fun

Day 7, yeah!!!

Prompt: Fall Baking

Fandom: Sander’s Sides

Pairing: LAMP/CALM

Words: 3,131

Summary: Patton’s been getting a lot of questions about the cookies people see his boyfriends eating in his videos, so he decides to make a video about them!

Tags/Warnings: some swearing, Virgil eats like, everything, very ridiculous, Human AU, Virgil goes by Anx on Tumblr and his boyfriends try to respect that

Enjoy!

AO3

fic masterlist

like what I do? buy me a coffee or GoFundMe

Reblogs > Likes

@sanderssidesspook

Taglist:

@hungry-red-panda

The video starts, the screen black. Voices are heard.

“Why do we have to film this?” A slightly gravelly voice grumbles. It’s hard to hear, the voice quiet.

“Because people wanna know how we make those neat-o cookies, Virge!” A bright, bubbly voice replies.

“Okay but that’s what Google is for.” The gravelly voice replies.

“I have to agree, this hardly seems like a productive use of time.” A third voice adds, calm and rhythmic in its speech pattern.

“Where is your sense of adventure? This is going to be epic!” This voice is loud, full of confidence and bravado. Its source is either close to the camera, or just painfully loud.

“Sure, if you take the cap off the lens before hitting record next time.” The gravelly voice snarks.

There’s a snort, a giggle, and a shocked cry. Suddenly, the video comes to life, the image blurred as the camera is picked up and a face not unlike a more kempt-looking Flynn Rider takes up a majority of the screen. The man smiles, his cheeks dusting with pink. “Ah, how embarrassing.” The camera moves again, showcasing a kitchen and three young men all standing around in various states of excitement. A man in a light blue polo, tan pants, and a cardigan wrapped around his shoulders bounces on the balls of his feet. His hair is a little messy, but side-swept across his forehead. Large, thick black-framed glasses sit on his face, making the green of his eyes shine. He speaks up, making it apparent that he’s the owner of the bubbly voice heard earlier.

“Hey there, Dad here! You guys might recognize me from my YouTube channel, Patty-Cake! This here,” He claps a grumpy-looking, darkly-dressed man on the shoulder, making him jump slightly. “Is V- Anx! You guys probably know all about his Tumblr, Panic-At-The-Everywhere. Isn’t he great?” Anx grumbles and gives the camera a lazy wave. “Yo.” His hands are being swallowed by the sleeves of the large black hoodie he wears, which is decorated with large sloppy white stitches and purple patches of fabric. His legs are wrapped in ripped black skinny jeans, and under his jacket he wears a purple shirt with small tears in it as well. His lips are turned down in a grimace, but his amusement is betrayed in his grey eyes.

Patton hops around Anx to throw an arm around the third man’s shoulders. “And this is Lo! I mean, Logan! He runs the science blog, Sound Logic, and the YouTube channel Nerdulator! You should check it out, he has lots of nifty science videos!” The same loud voice from before, belonging to the Flynn Rider look-alike, speaks up. “Don’t endorse nerdery on my channel!” Anx raises an eyebrow, smirking slightly from where he leans against the kitchen counter. “Nerdery?”

“Shut up, All-American Reject!”

Logan’s arms are crossed over his chest, his posture straight and proper, yet exuding calm relaxation. He pushes a pair of glasses very similar to Patton’s own up his nose, his other hand smoothing out a blue tie (which matches his eyes) over his black polo before his arms return to their crossed state. He nods at the camera. “Hello, there. As none of the others have elected to inform you all as to the task we will be engaging in, I feel it is my-“

The Flynn Rider look-alike moves so that he’s in the shot, throwing a hand out. “Hold on! We haven’t introduced the fabulous me, yet!” Logan sighs, gesturing to the man in a ‘go ahead’ manner. He perks up, smiling brightly at the camera. Ladies, lords, and non-binary royalty, welcome to my YouTube channel! I am the magnificent Prince Roman-“

“Since when are we doing last-name-first-name introductions?”

“-here to spread joy and creativity to all!” Patton’s hands come up to cup his cheeks as he smiles at Roman. “Aw, Ro! That was so cute!” Roman’s cheeks pink slightly, and he takes himself out of the shot. “Right! Well, today, fair subjects, we are going to do a collab video about those amazing Crofter’s cookies Padre loves to make!” Patton nods.

“And I wanted to do this video with everyone-“

“Since we make them together every fall-“

“And we’re putting it on Roman’s channel-“

“Because it’ll be an adventure!” Roman shouts. Patton moves to reveal a collection of various ingredients on the counter, separating them for better viewing as he lists them off. “So here we have butter, brown sugar, some eggs, vanilla extract, walnuts, flour, salt, and Crofter’s jams! I like to use apricot, strawberry, and mango, but you can use whatever flavors you want!”

Anx leans closer to Patton, grinning. “Plot twist, he uses them for the colors. They were an acquired taste.” Patton laughs and nods. “What can I say? When it comes to fall colors, I was in a bit of a-“

“Don’t.”

“-jam!”

Logan groans. Roman grins brightly and Virgil hides his snickering behind a hoodie-clad hand. Patton smiles and adds, “The link to the recipe is in the description! It’s berry easy to follow.” Logan pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolding it. “I have it here. Since I neither have the skill nor interest to participate, I shall read the directions to you all.” Patton deflates slightly but doesn’t say anything. Anx takes the strawberry jelly and pops it open while Patton is grabbing a cookie sheet and parchment paper. Anx dips his finger into the Crofter’s – much to Logan’s disgust and dismay – and pops some of the jelly into his mouth. Patton looks over, crying out and taking the jar from Anx.

“Vi- Anx! Don’t do that, it’s so unsanitary!” Anx rolls his eyes, hopping up onto the counter and kicking his feet. “Yeah, like you don’t do the same thing.” Logan raises an eyebrow, looking up from the recipe. “I sincerely hope that you do not, Patton. At least use a spoon.”

“Spoons are for people who don’t have crippling depression.”

Silence descends on the room, Patton and Logan looking at Anx with concern and confusion. “…Are you okay, Anx?”

Anx grabs the mango and scoops some into his mouth with his fingers with a smirk. Logan makes a sound that can only be accurately described as the Windows error noise and Patton takes the jar from Anx. “You stop that!  We’re supposed to be baking!”

Logan straightens up with the reminder and looks at the recipe he holds in his hands. “Alright, back to business. The first direction states to preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease the baking sheet.”

Patton nods, moving over to the oven with a spring in his step and setting the oven to heat up. He grabs a sheet of parchment paper, explaining to the camera, “I prefer to use these rather than wasting Pam spray and giving myself a more annoying cleanup. If you use parchment sheets, you can just pop the baking sheet straight in the washer, no rinsing off!” Logan nods. Anx looks bored, eyeing the ingredients; Patton has moved all three jellies out of his reach.

“Next, separate the egg, reserving the white-“

Patton looks over his shoulder, brows furrowed. “Wait, just one egg?” Logan nods. “Yes, Patton, only one. Don’t you know this? I’d have thought you had this recipe memorized after all these years.” Patton huffs lightly, though he doesn’t look annoyed. He takes an egg out of the carton and sets it on the counter, picking the carton up and moving to put it back in the fridge off-screen. Virgil leans over and snags the small bag of walnuts, opening it and taking a few, popping them into his mouth. As Patton comes back, he grabs the egg he’d set aside and takes a small glass bowl out of the cupboard, setting the bowl on the counter and cracking the egg open against it. He rolls the egg yolk between the two halves while the white drips into the bowl, the camera moving closer for a better view.

“Now cream the butter, sugar, and egg yolk.”

Patton nods, taking out another bowl while still holding the yolk sitting in its shell and setting that bowl down as well. He drops the egg yolk into the bowl and tosses the egg shell the two feet across to the trash can, smiling when it effortlessly makes it in. He grabs the butter and brown sugar, unwrapping the butter and tossing it in the bowl. He opens the bag of brown sugar and starts dumping it in the bowl, and Logan looks up with alarm. “Patton, wait! You need to measure that out!” There’s a snort off-camera.

Patton jumps slightly, pulling the bag back and blinking down at the bowl. There’s a decent-sized mound of brown sugar on top of the butter, and Patton laughs, rubbing the back of his neck. “Oops?” Logan sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose and the camera moves closer to Patton as Roman’s hand reaches out and pats him on the shoulder. “It’s okay, Pat, we can just double the recipe!” Patton perks up, smiling up at Roman. “You’re right! Thanks, Ro!” He leans out of the shot, a soft wet smacking noise preceding his return to the camera shot.

Logan sighs and goes to the fridge, coming back to Patton with another egg. “Please pay attention.”

“It might help if you, y’know, tell him how much he should be using beforehand.” Anx comments, words slurred a bit by a mouth full of walnuts. Patton looks over and pouts at Anx, plucking the bag out of his hands. “Anx, if you’re hungry just say so! I’ll make you a snack.”

“I thought that’s what we were doing.”

Patton shrugs. “Well not if you eat all the ingredients, kiddo!” Anx huffs lightly. “Whatever.” Patton turns back to the task at hand and quickly has the second egg separated. He takes an electric mixer and plugs it in, turning it on and using it to mix the brown sugar, butter, and egg yolks. Once that’s finished, he looks over at Logan.

“Add vanilla, flour and salt, mixing well.”

Patton reaches for said ingredients.

“A half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a cup of flour, and a fourth a teaspoon of salt.”

Patton blinks and grabs the measuring cups out of a nearby drawer, smiling at Logan. “Thanks, Lo!” Logan’s cheeks pink slightly, and he nods. Patton measures out the ingredients this time, adding them to the bowl and pausing. Roman speaks up off-camera. “Patton? What is it?”

“How much mixing would you consider mixing well?”

Virgil snrks.

“I’m sure if you properly mix them until they are well blended, that should suffice.” Patton smiles and nods, mixing the ingredients and turning back to Logan with flour on his nose. Logan grins at him, obviously trying hard not to but failing. Patton blinks at him, confused. “What is it?” Logan crosses the kitchen and smiles down at Patton, reaching up and wiping the flour off his nose. “Just a bit of flour.”

The close proximity has Patton blushing. They stand like that for a long moment, the kitchen silent, until Anx clears his throat.

“This is two gay five me. Come on guys, let’s get this over with.” Roman snrks off-camera. “You’re one to talk, G Note.” Anx shoots him a glare. “We don’t mention the G note in this household.”

Patton laughs and moves to continue with the baking, and Logan goes back to reading the directions.

“Shape dough into balls. Roll in egg white, then walnuts. Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 5 minutes.” Patton does as directed and places the finished balls into the oven. Roman suddenly bursts out laughing, and the camera shot moves to focus on Anx, who’s pouring salt into his palm and eating it. Patton looks up at the laugh, following Roman’s gaze and making a distressed sound. Anx looks directly into the camera with a smirk. “I’m eating salt because my life’s falling apart.” Roman starts laughing harder, the camera shaking, and Patton pulls Anx into a hug, taking the salt from him.

Anx snrks and pats Patton’s back. “It’s a joke, Patton, come on. I’m fine.” Patton mumbles something into Anx’s shoulder, and Logan steps between the camera and the duo on the counter. “We will be right back with the final part of the process once the cookies have cooled.” He puts his hand over the camera.

The video cuts to a scene fifteen minutes later. All four men are sitting at the table with thin plastic cutting boards in front of them. Each board has thumbprint cookies on them, the jellies seen earlier in the middle of the table. There are plastic knives and a small pile of toothpicks as well. Patton smiles at the camera, waving. “Hey there, welcome back! So once the cookies are out, you usually press an indent into them with your thumb and just fill the hole with jelly, but for this particular design, we pressed them a little flat!” He holds up a cookie to show the camera. “So what we’re doing now is we’re gonna take these jellies and use the knives and toothpicks to make leaves on the cookie!”

Anx groans, his chin resting in his hand. “You make it sound so easy.”

Roman grins. “Maybe it would be if you didn’t kill your brain cells ingesting all that salt.”

Anx opens his mouth to respond, but Patton cuts him off. “So we’re gonna start off taking the knife and putting a little jelly on the cookie!” He does so, showing the small dollop of jelly on the cookie in his hand. “I don’t put too much, ‘cause we’re gonna be spreading it into points, like this.” He takes a toothpick, gently scraping the jelly into five fine points on the cookie. He grins at the camera, showing off the final product. “And don’t be too worried if it doesn’t look exactly like this! It takes a lot of practice!”

Anx sets down a cookie, now freshly jellied, and huffs. “Great, wish you’d told me that sooner. Can I go take a nap now?” Logan sets down his own cookie, a brief glimpse showing a leaf with five rather round-looking points. “No, you may not. You are helping to provide reassurance to our audience that Patton’s perfection cannot be expected on the first attempt. That, and you agreed to do this with us.” Anx grumbles something unintelligible and picks up another cookie. Patton smiles at Logan and goes back to making another leaf.

Once the four are done, Roman picks up the camera and does a close-up of all of their cookies, their names showing up in the bottom right corner of the video with each presentation. The camera moves back up to focus on Patton, who places the cookies on the baking sheet and puts them back in the oven. “Now we cook these for eight minutes, and we’re done!”

The video cuts to the four men standing in their living room, a common sight in Logan’s videos and occasionally in Patton’s and Roman’s. Anx and Logan are stuffing their faces with cookies as Roman and Patton smile into the camera, Patton speaking up first. “Thanks for joining us today! I hope you all enjoyed the video and make some tasty treats of your own! If you do, tag one of us on Twitter or Tumblr! I had so much fun, you guys really baked my day!” Logan stops eating to groan and roll his eyes, and Anx chokes on a cookie. “Oh no, V- Anx! Are you okay?” Patton moves to help Anx, who disappears off-camera, and Roman takes over.

“Well… While they sort that out, let me end on a high note! I hope all of you fabulous viewers out there have had a wonderful day, and I hope to see you next time! In the immortal words of the great Mr. Rogers, you make the world better just by being you. Until next time, take it easy ladies, lords, and non-binary royalty! Salutations!” The video goes dark and ends.

Virgil sits back in his desk chair and sighs, rubbing his face. He looks over at his bed where Roman sits criss-cross, gripping his shins with a look of anticipation. “I can’t believe you actually posted that. And left in all that embarrassing shit.” Roman looks confused. “What do you mean?” Virgil’s mouth quirks to the side and he shrugs.

“All the awkward pauses and screw-ups and me fucking choking on a cookie. Why’d you leave that stuff in?”

Roman sits up, letting go of his legs to fold his hands in his lap. “Because those are the best parts.”

Virgil looks over at him, confused. “How? They were all accidents and totally screwed with the flow of the video.” Roman smiles. “Exactly!” When Virgil’s expression doesn’t change, he continues. “Those are the parts that give the video life! They’re the most organic; they give viewers a glimpse into out daily lives. Those are the parts where we show how human we are, and how we love each other and enjoy what we do. Without those ‘screw-ups’, the video would just be some boring instructional video on making cookies!”

Virgil looks back at the computer before looking at Roman. “…I never thought of it like that. I guess I can see why you’re so good at your job, then.” Roman beams with pride and waves Virgil over. Virgil smiles slightly and gets up, moving to his bed to sit next to Roman. Roman pulls him close, smiling as he stares at a P!ATD poster.

“My favorite part is when we all realized you were eating salt out of your palm like a bird.”

Virgil snrks, the sound evolving into full-on laughter. Roman’s smile grows at the sound; he loved it so much but didn’t get to hear it as much as he’d like. He kisses the top of Virgil’s head, and Virgil calms down to respond with, “How about when Patton dumped like a cup of brown sugar in the bowl?” Roman laughs, nodding.

“That was pretty great. Logan’s face was priceless. Oh! And when they totally had that moment? They looked like they were back in high school, do you remember? When they were always-“

“Pining after each other, and everyone could tell except for them because it was obvious but they were too daft? Yeah, I remember.” Virgil grins and relaxes into Roman’s side. They sit there in silence for a moment before Virgil speaks up. “I guess you can keep the video up.”

Roman snrks. “Thank you so much for the approval, your majesty.”

“Hey, at least my last name isn’t Prince.”

[otome-reviews]

SLBP: “Riot of the Heart” Shingen+Inuchiyo+Mitsunari Reviews [SPOILERS]

This is Part 2 of my review of SLBP’s crazy Riot of the Heart event, where pairs of warlords encounter each other in unexpected situations! Part 1 here.

This event featured the reunion of Shingen and Kojuro, my two favorite smut lords! Tragically, there were no Shingen/Kojuro/MC threesomes in this route. ;) So the story begins with a chance encounter between Shingen and Kojuro at the onsen. It’s not sexually charged at all. (​Shingen laughs pleasantly, raking his gaze over Kojuro. ... ​With his gloriously naked body on full display, Shingen climbs out of the bath and leaves Kojuro to his own devices.) After Kojuro helps MC with her sandal strap the next day, Shingen strong-arms politely invites Kojuro to stay at ​Tsutsujigasaki Castle for a while, to the temporary shock of his clan (since he’s the enemy and all). Kojuro settles in nicely, getting along with everyone and even helping out with some day-to-day minutiae. He’s bemused by the...differences in leadership style, shall we say, between the mega-charismatic, slightly micromanage-y Shingen and his own antisocial boss, Masamune. In any case, this whole saga turns out to be a long-shot recruitment pitch (on Shingen’s end), and an opportunity to observe the enemy (on Kojuro’s end). It’s also a bit of a reunion, because the two met long ago, as children. Ultimately, Kojuro’s loyalty to Masamune unsurprisingly prevails, and the pair part on good terms (after Kojuro makes a half-hearted attempt to advertise Masamune to MC, lol).

Given how unabashedly smutty my impression of Shingen is, I was honestly a little surprised by how PG this story was! But regardless, I enjoyed it. Shingen and Kojuro make an awesome duo, and this route honestly made me a little sad that we can’t just have all the warlords getting along all the time in SLBP, haha. I could listen to the warlords praise each other forever. (​“There is something about that man that makes you want to follow him to the ends of the earth...of that I have no doubt.” - K)

The brawny men pair up in the next route, featuring Inuchiyo and Yukimura! This story takes place in Kyoto. Yukimura’s in town to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC?). MC first meets him when he scares away the perpetually annoying magistrate. Later that night, Inuchiyo runs into him randomly at a bar. Several hours and tons of sake later, and they’re lifelong buddies. Their differing life philosophies cause tension though: Yukimura has a suicidal dream of dying gloriously in battle, while Inuchiyo fights for survival. They duke it out over MC’s Absolute Victory Bowls, as well as in a symbolic fight at the UFC (“I want you to live!”). The fight ends in a draw, but in the end, it’s implied that while Yukimura remains battle-hungry as ever, he’ll be a little more keen on survival from now on. After hilariously mistaking MC to be Inuchiyo’s sister, Yukimura heads back to Kai, and MC and Inuchiyo share a brief and wholesome moment that ends...in a kiss. Scandalous. ;)

Both these guys seems super nice and relatively normal, so this was overall a pleasant read! I can’t blame Yukimura too much for mischaracterizing MC and Inuchiyo’s relationship though. After all, aside from MC’s internal monologuing about his manly good looks/strength, their relationship doesn’t appear to be super sexual. And Inuchiyo, like Shang from Mulan, isn’t exactly the slickest with words: ​“When I think about my own death, I worry what would happen to you so much I feel sick. You'd probably sob like an idiot...” It’s endearing - especially since he clearly cares for MC a lot. :) Overall, I enjoyed the slice-of-life, apolitical feel of this particular story!

To counter the overly charismatic Shingen-Kojuro matchup, the final event pairing features the two grumps Mitsunari and Masamune. Long story short, Mitsunari’s been sent by Hideyoshi to visit Oshu for a few days. M1 and M2 hilariously get off on the wrong foot after a tense nonverbal fight over the same book in an antique bookstore, but they quickly (yet silently) bond over their antisocial nerdery - at Mitsunari’s welcoming feast, while everyone else is happily getting drunk and chatting away, might I add. Over the next few days, they teamwork to convince the antique bookstore owners not to close shop, eat MC’s food, and exchange books with each other, multiple times, like schoolchildren (​“Only because I finished reading it already.” -Mitsunari). In the end, a strong bond of introversion is formed, and the visit concludes happily.

So...here’s the thing. I think Masamune’s antisocialness is endearing, esp. since he seems to be such a misunderstood sweetheart (just started his route). But Mitsunari? Mitsunari comes across as a socially stunted asshole who behaves like a dick just because he’s allowed to. And while he’s grumpily kind to MC at times, he mostly seems to just drag her from place to place, and he and MC don’t seem to have much chemistry, physical or otherwise (​“What are you standing there grinning for? We’re going to sleep.”). Also, I don’t like his outfit. I have no idea if Mitsunari has more endearing qualities in his main route, but in any case, I personally think this route would’ve been much more enjoyable from Masamune’s perspective, since the storyline itself was pretty cute! PS Kojuro really needs to stop seducing me in routes that aren’t his... it’s becoming a problem. :’D

Overall Shingen rating: 9/10. No smut (which is shocking b/c Shingen), but still very good!

Overall Inuchiyo rating: 8/10. Inuchiyo and Yukimura are freaking adorable!

Overall Mitsunari rating: 6/10. Super cute storyline, terrible romance.

So if you’re short on time/total love points, here is my personal event route ranking! 1) Kenshin/Mitsuhide, 2) Shingen/Kojuro, 3) Inuchiyo/Yukimura, 4) Hideyoshi/Saizo, 5) Mitsunari/Masamune, 6) Ieyasu/Nobunaga